Daily Inspiration Bag Giveaway #25
By Sean Hansen
I had a chance to photograph at a local state park in Iowa this week. I’ve still got a long way to go in learning photography, but I’m quite proud of the pictures I made as this was my first fully “manual” photo session (i.e. manual exposure, manual focus, and developed the raw files in Capture One). I loved my film SLR as a teenager, but just started out with a decent digital camera (in scene recognition mode with autofocus and jpeg’s) a little over a year ago. I love the craft – and gear ;-), and find satisfaction in being as involved in the process as possible.
Plus, I’ve found that the manual process helps me focus on each photograph I make. I’ve just switched to manual focusing, for example, and find that I’m much more deliberate about my framing now.
Thank you for running such a great website. I love the images and variety. And I appreciate your enthusiasm and passion for the gear, too. I love how you show such genuine excitement for the tools of the craft (as opposed to just trying to promote buying more gear).
So, here’s my three favorites from my trip to the park. All taken with a Fuji X-T1 + XF23mm F1.4, raw processed to taste in Capture One 9.
Tranquility
Very nice images, well done. I like #3 the best. Like you, I learned on film SLR and still shoot more than 50% film. Although I’ve experimented with manual, I’ve found that concentrating on the details of exposure settings too much has taken away from letting me relax and just compose and shoot. Therefore I mostly shoot in aperture priority, or Professional on occasion.
Thank you! I wish I still had my film SLR. Besides the IQ of good film, there’s something about working with the physicality of the medium. Maybe someday I’ll get a chance to pick up a film camera again.
I can definitely understand the benefit of shooting in A or P mode. I don’t know that I would shoot manual as much without the big EVF of the X-T1. I make most of my adjustments based on what I see through the EVF rather than through watching the exposure meter or histogram (which occasionally means I get a less than ideal exposure). Same thing with manual focusing, the focus peaking of the EVF lets me compose and focus at the same time without changing the focus point. Without the EVF, I’d probably stick to aperture priority and autofocus. Although my dream camera is a Leica M-D, so I’m guess I’m flexible on the autofocus.